


TRAI

by Miuushi



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Depression, Gen, Healing, Implied/Referenced Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:48:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28962708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miuushi/pseuds/Miuushi
Summary: Disclaimer: I do not own OMORI. Rights to the game go to OMOCATWARNING: There are dark themes in this fic so please be aware as you read.He decided to face the truth of his actions. No longer choosing White Space to escape his reality, he was ready for life’s consequences.Standing in front of his friends with a bandage wrapped around his head, it was time to make amends.This takes place right at the cut off of the TRUE ENDING and will navigate you through these character’s lives after the truth of Mari’s death comes to light.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 148





	1. 1_TRUTH

**{A/N: Hello lovelies, thank you for checking out my fanfic! I hope you enjoy it!}**

_ “Hey, shopkeep, is it here yet?” Kel yelled, slamming open the door to HOBBEEZ and startling the customers inside. _

_ “Kel, don’t be rude,” Hero and Mari scolded before apologizing to the shopkeeper. _

_ Everyone else made a beeline to the comic section, not caring about their manners. They were kids after all, so they had better things to do. _

_ The kids had their eyes peeled wide open as they scanned the rows and rows of comics, specifically the Captain SpaceBoy! edition. _

_ On the first Saturday of every month, a new edition is released. Meaning that had to come here at least once a month to stay up to date with the best comic in the world.  _

_ Sure, it may be wrong for them to read the comic without paying for it, but who said that kids had money? _

_ Kel was the first to grab the latest edition. _

_ “Kel, it’s my turn to hold it!” Aubrey exclaimed, reaching for the comic. Kel held it over his head and out of Aubrey’s reach. _

_ “Finders keepers.” Kel stuck his tongue at her. _

_ “It was your turn last time, Kel, you have to share,” Basil reasoned as he got in between the two of them. _

_ “No!” _

_ “Yes,” Hero rebutted, plucking the comic out of his hand and handing it over to Aubrey. “It’s Aubrey’s turn.” _

_ “Hero, come on let’s check out the records,” Mari called to him. _

_ Aubrey stuck her tongue out at Kel, motioning for everyone to gather around her. Kel stood to her right while Sunny stood to her left. Basil, instead, stood in front of the three and lifted up his camera. _

_ Without them noticing, he snapped a picture. _

_ “Hurry up, Aubrey, start reading,” Kel commanded. _

_ Sunny shushed him as they all tuned into Aubrey’s voice. _

_ “You see, this sweet jelly filled donut isn’t just any donut,” Aubrey narrated as Captain SpaceBoy. _

_ “What do you mean, boss?” She voiced as a space pirate before imitating SpaceBoy’s sigh. _

_ “I guess it’s time for me to come clean.” _

===

“I have to tell you something.”

Sunny stood at the entrance of Basil’s hospital room. He made eye contact with Basil, judging by his expression he understood what he was about to say. His heart was pounding in his chest despite the calm look in his eyes.

This will change everything.

He took a deep breath before shortening the distance between him and his friends. Whether or not they were about to stay his friends was up to them.

“Sunny, are you feeling okay? You probably shouldn’t be out of bed right now,” Hero voiced his concern.

“I’m okay.”

Truthfully, he was not, but his physical state was the least of his concern. His head was throbbing lightly along with his right eye. Despite only having half his vision, he could see clearly.

He had to do this.

“You’re not going to like this,” Sunny admitted, his eye itching to cast downward, but he forced himself to look up. His friends were on edge. “It’s about Mari.”

The room froze.

Everyone stared at Sunny, the atmosphere was too heavy for this to be positive information. Basil met Sunny’s gaze and nodded, urging him to continue through the thick of the truth.

“What…What about her?” Kel asked, trying to meet the gaze of anyone in the room but all eyes were glued onto Sunny.

In one deep breath, Sunny finally admitted the truth.

“Her death wasn’t…it wasn’t a suicide.”

He watched in slow motion as everyone's eyes widened. Aubrey’s brows furrowed, sending a harsh glare toward the typically silent boy. Kel was too stunned to do anything but stare, and Hero’s eyes immediately began to water.

“Where is this coming from?” Aubrey snapped, her eyes slowly beginning to water. “Why are you telling us this?”

This didn’t seem right to anyone. Nothing could have prompted Sunny to say this right now. More important than that, what he was telling them seemed unbelievable.

Mari had passed away four years ago.

Everyone, even their parents, knew it was a suicide.

_ That’s why their tree was chopped down. _

“Sunny, you’re not lying to us aren’t you?” Hero questioned, but by the way he phrased it he already knew the answer.

The boy in question shook his head.

“It was an accident,” Sunny muttered, feeling exactly how he did all those years ago when he saw Mari’s body at the bottom of the stairs.

“What happened?” Kel asked slowly, a feeling in his stomach telling him he wouldn’t like the answer.

It’s as they say,

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

With that, Sunny finally opened the floodgates of truth to wash over the lies crudely mistaken as fact.

The truth fell deaf on Basil’s ears. He trusted Sunny with the truth, unknowing of the fact that that trust was not originally reciprocated.

With each word that came out of his friend’s mouth, the burden Basil carried felt lighter and lighter. He glanced at his friends.

They all stared at Sunny, horrified.

The whole truth was revealed. From the argument to the cover up, no detail was left hidden. There was no point in sugar coating the truth anymore.

What happened now was all up to their friends.

The two boys trusted that their friends, or possibly now former friends, would make the right decision regarding their actions. If that was prison, then so be it.

They didn’t care what happened to them anymore. If they left the truth inside, it was only going to take their lives.

It was the whole reason why they were here right now.

Basil’s future was going to be six feet under if it wasn’t for Sunny, yet that was the irony of it all. Their consciousness was going to drag them deeper and deeper until they couldn’t see the light of day again.

“I’m sorry, we didn’t think anyone would believe us if we said it was an accident, so we kept it hidden. We’re sorry,” Sunny finished. Despite trying his hardest to sound apologetic, and he truly was, expressing his emotions was never his strong suit.

No one spoke a word. The silence was growing louder by the second.

Hero turned to Basil, who hadn’t made a sound since Sunny walked in.

“You knew.”

Basil nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

Hero turned away and glanced at his brother and Aubrey. None of them could fully digest what they had been told, and it was hard to believe that Sunny and Basil had lived with this for years.

The silence became suffocating.

“I don’t know what to say,” Aubrey finally spoke, but by the way she bit the inside of her cheek everyone knew she was angry. Hero placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I think it’s time we go home,” he announced, his voice void of any emotion.

Slowly, the three of them walked out of the room. Kel stopped for a moment and looked back at the two people he thought he knew everything about.

They were now unrecognizable.

Kel looked away and walked out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Two people who were stuck covering up a crime never meant to be committed.

Sunny turned back to Basil, watching as the strands of black hair that had once suffocated his friend retreated. A smile grew on his face while his one working eye finally started to water for the first time in four years.

Basil watched as the tears dripped down his face.  _ Something  _ was no longer behind him.

Together, they were able to take their first breath of fresh air without feeling like they were drowning in guilt.

“Is it over?” Basil asked, tears of his own began dripping down his face.

Sunny nodded, moving over to now sit on the bed. Basil sat up and wrapped his arms around his partner in crime.

“I’m sorry,” Basil apologized, “If I hadn’t suggested-”

“No,” Sunny interrupted, “We didn’t know what to do. Besides, I pushed her.”

“But it was an accident, right?”

“Yeah.” This time, Sunny could say that with full confidence. There was no way he purposefully pushed Mari down the stairs with the intent of murder. She’d scared him in a moment of distress and he acted without thinking.

This was Sunny’s fault, and he was able to accept that along with Basil, who had chosen to blame Mari’s death on  _ something. _

The truth was, anyone could kill. It didn’t matter if someone had a good moral conscience, they too could be put in a situation where death was possible.

Sunny knew that what he did wasn’t legally murder, but involuntary manslaughter. As for Basil, he had no idea what category he’d fall under.

It was one thing to push someone down a flight of stairs. It was another to frame it as a suicide.

They had no idea how they were going to come back from this.

“I’m gonna miss you. I don’t want you to leave,” Basil cried, clutching onto the back of Sunny’s hospital gown tighter. “What am I gonna do when you’re gone?”

Sunny finally wrapped his arms around him. He never wanted to leave Faraway Town in the first place, but maybe it was for the better.

“I don’t know, but I guess you should probably start seeing a therapist,” Sunny half-joked. Basil started to giggle, prompting Sunny to do so too.

Their laughter continued to grow as the tears streamed down their cheeks. When Mari died, that’s what the two of them needed the most and yet they never even got it. Instead, Sunny created  _ White Space  _ and Basil tried to kill himself.

They were only sixteen years old and this was the life they were forced to live.

The two needed help, mental help, but how they were going to get it properly without revealing the truth was going to be the challenge. In the end, the truth was still going to be hidden from people, but at least it was now out there.

Their laughter gradually came to a stop, now only reduced to short chuckles.

“Sunny…,” Basil’s laughter had died down completely, his tone no longer light, “please  promise me that we’ll always be there for each other , even though we’ll be apart.”

Where had he heard that before?

Was it when he and Basil stood hand in hand in a circle of pictures that were wished to be forgotten?

Was it when he sat with his head in his hands as Basil tried to coax him into seeing reality?

Or was it when they watched Mari’s casket lowered into her grave, not realizing their subconscious was dragging them down with her?

Nevertheless, Basil pleaded with him to stay and, instead, Sunny chose to live in a fantasy.

The two of them had learned the hard way that choosing escapism was choosing death over life.

Sunny pulled back from Basil, studying the tear stained face that he had tried to silence for so long. He knew his answer.

“I promise.”

===

No one said a word as they walked out of the hospital. No one even knew what to say or how to react.

Aubrey and Kel followed Hero outside, too appalled to have any sense of direction. Instead of going to his car, Hero continued walking until he reached a bench near the hospital entrance.

He sat down and gazed up at the sky.

What a lovely morning to receive such damaging news.

Aubrey looked up after him, noticing the broken balcony several stories above.

_ “Someone could get seriously injured if they went up there,” _ Aubrey thought, finally being able to form a coherent thought since Sunny told them the truth.

“Well, that was something,” Kel finally spoke

Aubrey turned to Kel and furrowed her eyebrows, disgusted by his choice of words.

“That was something?” She requoted, “What are you even thinking?”

Kel shrugged, his face blank of any emotion.

“She didn’t kill herself,” Hero muttered quietly to himself, still staring at the sky.

“Why would Sunny do this? He’s just going to drop this onto us and then leave?” Aubrey put her hands through her hair, trying desperately to get a hand on her emotions.

“I…I don’t know, but I just- I’m confused.”

“ _ You’re  _ confused? Sunny killed Mari and Basil helped cover it all up! What is there to be confused about?”

“Did she survive the fall?” Hero asked himself, his eyes beginning to water.

“Do you actually believe Sunny did it by accident?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Aubrey was yelling at this point. “We haven’t seen him in four years, we don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“But what about then, huh? Sunny wouldn’t… he couldn’t-”

“Are you honestly defending him? He hid this from us for  _ years,  _ he and Basil are the ones to blame!”

“Well maybe you’re acting like this because you want someone to blame for her death. Why are you so quick to say they did it on purpose?” Kel’s volume increased, gradually matching the anger Aubrey was emitting.

“I wasn’t the one who killed her!” Bitter tears started to slide down Aubrey’s face. “Oh god, she was killed…,” she muttered to herself. The realization of her death finally settling into her.

Kel was about to respond until he heard quiet sobs from behind Aubrey. The two of them turned to watch Hero, who now had his head in his hands.

“Hero…”

They moved to sit on either side of him.

“Hey,” Kel comforted, “everything’s gonna be okay.”

“You don’t know that, Kel,” Aubrey refuted, trying to fruitlessly wipe her tears away. “For all we know, there could be more they’re not telling us.”

“You don’t trust them at all anymore do you?”

Aubrey was silent, staring into Kel’s eyes as she contemplated the last three days. In three days, they managed to heal their relationship with one another, and in one moment they broke it.

“No. Don’t tell me you do?” Malice was laced in her voice.

“I honestly don’t know what to believe, but they’re our friends.”

“Why do you think that changes anything? If your friend told you that they had been killing people, would you still trust them?”

“No, of course not! All I’m saying is that there’s a lot of gray areas that we have to consider, so I can’t just label them as monsters without understanding what happened.”

Kel looked away from Aubrey, overwhelmed with their current situation. He didn’t want to think about what his friends did, but he knew it couldn’t go unaddressed. Kel may be an idiot sometimes, and he might be one right now, but he would never lack empathy. Especially when it regarded the people he cared about the most.

Now the three of them sat there, asking questions they knew would never be answered.

“Hero, what are we gonna do? Should we tell the police?” Kel asked, finally directing his full attention onto his brother.

Hero didn’t respond, but his cries turned to silent tears.

_ “Is that what Mari would have wanted?”  _ Hero thought to himself. Everyone knew how much Mari loved Sunny, and to learn that he did  _ this  _ to her…

No.

Hero wiped his tears away and sat up. They all needed to calm down before making any impactful decisions. It was clear how detrimental it could be if they didn’t think before they acted. Before he was able to respond, the three of them heard footsteps approaching them.

“Polly!” Kel exclaimed, turning over to face the caretaker.

“Hey, is Basil awake? I just got off the phone with his parents and-” Polly stopped talking, now noticing the tear stained faces of Aubrey and Hero- “Wait, did something happen?”

Aubrey and Kel didn’t know how to respond. Should they tell her the truth?

“Nothing happened, Polly,” Hero reassured as he stood up, flashing his usual charming smile. “We were just relieved that Sunny and Basil are okay.”

Polly smiled at him.

“I see. Well, I’m going to go see him. You guys should probably head back home, your parents are probably worried about you.”

Hero agreed and the three of them bid their goodbyes to Polly. Now that they comprehended what Basil had done, they understood why he couldn’t open up to Polly.

Aubrey and Kel followed behind Hero to the car, sharing a look as they walked.

_ “He didn’t tell her.” _

Was this the route Hero was going to take? How could he defend someone who took his whole world away?

The two high schoolers remained silent as they were driven home.

What was supposed to be a bittersweet ending to their reunion. A new chapter of their lives free from the burden of Mari’s death, was now riddled with conflict.

===

Sunny returned to his room shortly after Polly arrived. According to her, the two of them were supposed to be released today.

All Sunny needed to do was wait for his mother. It took about an hour to get from Faraway Town and wherever the hell he was going to move to, so he spent his time looking at the flowers that adorned his room.

He’d done all this good for others, but he couldn’t even do good for his sister.

A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Sunny? Baby?” His mom called out before opening the door. Despite being relieved that her son was all right, his injuries broke her heart. “Oh my gosh…”

She walked over and caressed the injured side of his face, being careful not to go near the eye.

He wasn’t getting that eye back.

“Sorry,” Sunny awkwardly replied, not knowing how to respond in a situation like this. His mom wrapped him up in a hug.

“Don’t be, the doctors told me it was an accident, but… I sense it probably wasn’t, right?”

Sunny didn’t respond, choosing to hug his mom tighter. It was more than enough to answer her question.

“My sweet baby boy, I can’t believe you two did this. Mommy is so sorry for leaving you alone, she should have come back sooner.”

He cringed at her words. Since Mari’s passing, his mom has been stuck treating him like a twelve year old. To her, keeping some sense of normalcy before her daughter’s passing was what kept her sane.

She lost everything, Sunny was the only thing she had left and she’d be damned if she lost him too. Studying Sunny’s face though, with the bandages wrapped around his head and eye, gave the dark reminder that clinging onto the past wouldn't allow her to fall into the future.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Sunny finally responded, remembering back to everything he and his friends had done over the past three days.

His mother sighed.

“Anyways, you’ve been released from the hospital, but the doctor wants regular check ups on you. They said you suffered a minor concussion and of course… your eye, so we have to come back here. Our insurance will cover most of the fees if we do it here.”

Sunny looked up at his mom, his eye wide. He took a glimpse at the different flowers, each one from a person he didn’t want to bid a farewell to.

This wasn’t the final goodbye, and he realized that now.

This was the greeting to his reality.

===

Sunny was ushered into the backseat of the car with the claim that there wasn’t enough room in the front. He settled in and fixated his view out of the window, watching as the once blue sky faded into warm colors.

“Buckle up, baby,” his mom reminded him as she began to drive out into the streets.

Butterflies settled into his stomach, the thought of living somewhere new after he just conquered the demons living in his own home unsettled him. He was glad his life here wasn’t over yet, even if he had no idea what was to come. He hadn’t even told his mom yet about what he admitted to his friends.

She had tried her hardest to cover up the truth only for Sunny to go behind her back and dig it out of its grave.

Instead, she sat unaware in the driver seat while her son watched the cookie cutter houses pass by in the back.

It was only when Sunny recognized Aubrey’s house amongst the scenery that he realized their destination had altered.

“Mom, where are we going?” This wasn’t the direction to the city at all.

The woman in question pulled up to the church and gazed at her son through the rear view mirror.

“Well, we can’t leave town without saying goodbye to Mari, now can we?” She got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side, pulling out a potted white orchid. Motioning her son to follow, she headed toward the cemetery.

Sunny watched as she placed her flower next to the one he bought for her.

“My beautiful baby girl,” she whispered to herself, blinking away a tear that threatened to slip from her eyes. It’s been four years and she still couldn’t go to her grave without the feeling of guilt. No matter the circumstance, parents always tended to blame themselves for the death of their child.

Sunny stared at the tombstone. More specifically, he stared at Mari in her smooth white dress as she stood behind her tombstone, watching her mother.

Mari smiled before turning her head toward Sunny. She made a heart with her hands with a smile on her face as she disappeared  _ like all the other hallucinations _ .

The hallucinations weren’t as strong anymore, but they still managed to make their appearance.

His mom took a deep breath, composing herself before directing her attention toward her son.

“Come on, baby. Mommy is ready to go now.” She grabbed his hand as they walked back to the car. Despite the passenger seat now being free, Sunny still opted to sit in the back.

His mom turned on the radio, hoping to drown out any negative thoughts the two of them may be having.

Who knew what could happen if they were left alone with their thoughts for too long.

For Sunny, the music was background noise. By now the sun had finally set, and after the events of today, he was exhausted.

_ “One more day the sun reaches my bed.” _

“I’m sure you’re tired after all this, Sunny.”

_ “One more day to spend alone again.” _

“Go ahead and sleep, I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

_ “Mornings start without me.” _

With that, the song slowly became muddled as he drifted further into sleep. A sense of peace washed over him.

_ “Though the pain remains,” _

This wasn’t right. This wasn’t the end of a chapter, but only the beginning.

_ “And though it may be hard,” _

To end his journey here would be a story without a moral.

_ “I’ll carry on.” _

Leading people to falsely believe in true happiness with no worry about the consequences.

_ “Time to rise and shine.” _

In his quest for closure he failed to realize that many people confuse peace-

_ “Good morning!” _

-with unconsciousness.

**Welcome to White Space.**

**{A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope to see you again in the next chapter! If you liked this chapter please leave it a kudos and a comment. Bye!}**


	2. 2_DENIAL

**{A/N: Hello lovelies, sorry for the late chapter update! Anyways, enjoy!}**

_ The sun shined brightly overhead on a cool autumn day. Mari had already set up the picnic and was sitting in the cool shade, watching everyone else have fun at their hangout spot. Kel laid down next to her with two Orange Joe’s already in his system. _

_ Kel turned his head away from the sun and was face to face with Basil’s camera. He stared at the lens, deep in thought, before he sat up and pulled out Basil’s photo album from the picnic basket. _

_ “Kel, what are you doing?” Mari asked, diverting her attention away from the scenery. He didn’t answer, mumbling incoherently under his breath. When he got to the last page he stopped and glanced back at Mari. _

_ “Where’s Basil?” he finally spoke. _

_ “Basil and Sunny are chasing Hero with a bug.” Mari motioned over in the distance where Hero was cowering on the ground with the two younger boys above him. The two watched as the grasshopper in Sunny’s hand hopped off of him and onto his victim. Hero froze completely, unable to move until Basil quickly picked the grasshopper up again. Basil’s plan to have Hero get over his fear of bugs was becoming futile. He’d have to rethink his plan. _

_ “I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” Basil called out to everyone, giving the grasshopper to Sunny and walking out of their hangout spot. Without guidance, Sunny stood there with a grasshopper in his hand, only moving when Aubrey walked up to him and Hero. _

_ Perfect. They’re distracted. _

_ Kel turned around and grabbed the camera, fumbling with the buttons on it. _

_ “What are you doing?” Mari asked again cautiously, eyeing the camera. _

_ “I’m gonna take a picture of myself, duh.” _

_ “But Basil only likes taking pictures of people-” Mari was cut off as Kel finished her sentence. _

_ “-when they aren’t paying attention so it looks natural. I know that already, but Basil takes more pictures of you guys than me.” _

_ Mari cocked her eyebrow. _

_ “I’m pretty sure he takes more pictures of Sunny than he does of all of us. Did you even count how many times everyone was in his album?” _

_ “Yeah… well, no. You know I’m not good at math!” With that confession, Kel stood up and held the camera out with the lens facing toward him. _

_ “Kel, you’re going into seventh grade…,” concern laced Mari’s voice at his inability to count. _

_ “Let’s not talk about that.” _

_ Kel spun around in a circle as the camera flashed, taking a photo. He smiled brightly. _

_ “Now I’ll just tell Basil that I took it by accident. No one can even tell I took it on purpose!” Kel explained triumphantly. _

_ “I’m pretty sure everyone can tell,” Mari admitted, humored by his behavior. _

_ “No they won’t,” Kel denied, “Just you wait, Mari. One day, there’s going to be more pictures of me than of you!” _

===

Hero stopped his car in front of Aubrey’s house, unlocking the side door.

“Are you sure you want to be home right now?” Hero asked, worried that she’d be alone in her thoughts with this newfound information. “You can come back to our place if you want.”

“I’ll be fine,” Aubrey muttered, her head kept down low, “Thanks for the ride.”

She left without another word and went back into the house void of compassion and life. Whether or not her mom noticed she was gone for an extended period of time was unknown to them, but they definitely had their guesses.

Without another word, Hero drove off. The concern that once painted over his face for Aubrey switched back to a blank expression. It was like someone flipped a switch on him. One moment he’s the charming boy next door that’s always in a good mood. The next he’s silent with a thousand words begging to be spoken behind his lips and a thousand emotions swirling behind his eyes.

It didn’t go unnoticed.

“You’re doing it again,” Kel spoke quietly, just enough for Hero to hear him. His brother glanced at him through the rearview mirror. A beat of silence passed before he responded.

“It’s not like we can act how we’re feeling right now.”

“Yeah, I get it with Polly, but with Aubrey? That’s not like you at all.”

“And killing Mari wasn’t like Sunny,” Hero snapped back without thinking about his choice of words. Kel shut his mouth, not knowing what to say as he stared as his brother with pleading eyes. Eyes that wished Hero wouldn’t have thought so harshly about Sunny, even though he knew that he was right.

The rest of the ride was silent as they drove back home. Neither of them were ready to keep talking about the reality they were in. Instead they chose to start slowly sinking into their never ending thoughts: Asking questions that may never be answered and wishing that this was all just a terrible nightmare.

Hero pulled up into their driveway and immediately went inside, not waiting for Kel to catch up.

Inside, they were greeted by two incredibly worried parents that pounced on their sons the moment they walked through the door.

“What happened? Are Sunny and Basil okay?”

“Are  _ you guys  _ okay?”

Hero put his hands up, clearly overwhelmed by the sudden attention. He flashed his parents a nervous smile much to Kel’s distaste.

“We’re fine and everyone is okay,” Hero answered, dispelling his parents' concern. Relief seemed to wash over them, but they weren’t yet satisfied by his response.

“Sunny’s mom called and told us that he lost his eye! I thought everyone was sleeping over at Basil’s house. How did that happen?” His mother asked, causing Hero to go silent.

No one knew what happened between Sunny and Basil.

===

_ A heavy thud shook the house. _

_ Hero was the first to wake up. Peering into the darkness, he noticed Sunny’s disappearance. _

_ “Could he have gone to the bathroom?” he thought to himself. “No, it’s way too quiet.” _

_ He tried to think nothing of it, but the gut feeling inside of him told him that something was wrong. Despite being a light sleeper, it was obvious something had woken him up. It felt like he had woken up from a nightmare, not knowing that he might just be living in one. _

_ Gaining his bearings in the dark living room, he silently walked around his sleeping friends and entered the hallway. His eyes immediately locked onto Basil’s door. _

_ “Maybe Sunny got through to Basil?” _

_ It was a lie, and he knew it. With each step he took, his heart seemed to sink deeper into his chest. It was almost as if he wasn’t going to like what he saw. _

_ The door knob felt heavy in his hands. Nevertheless, he opened it. _

_ Blood was the first thing he noticed. Two teenage boys covered in blood, lying on the ground. If it wasn’t for their chests heaving up and down with breath he’d have thought they were dead. Even in the darkness he could notice the scratches covering their arms mixed with shades of red that would soon turn into blues and purples. _

_ Hero didn’t move. He didn’t know if he was capable. His mind was moving fast, trying to wrap his head around what had happened that he couldn’t think clearly. _

_ The moonlight from the uncovered window shined down into the room, causing something to glimmer under its light. Narrowing his eyes at the shining object, he recognized its shape. _

_ Basil’s gardening shears. The object was mostly covered with blood, and it lied directly in it’s owner’s hands. Alarms blared through Hero’s head. _

_ Quickly, Hero scanned Sunny’s body, zeroing in on his face. How could he not have noticed it before? The gash across his eye that continued to bleed, joining the growing puddle on the floor. Only then did Hero seem to gain control of himself. His thoughts came to an immediate stop. _

_ “Polly!” Hero cried out, running straight over to her room. _

_ By now, everyone had been startled awake by the sudden commotion. Kel slowly opened his eyes, disoriented by the disruption. Blinking a couple of times to get used to the lack of light, he listened to the voices around him and shot up into a sitting position. _

_ Something was wrong. _

_ Kel turned to look at Aubrey on the couch, who was already sitting up. They shared a look before running into the hall, following the voices to Basil’s room. _

_ The moment they saw their friends lying on the ground in puddles of blood, they froze. Neither of them noticed Hero calling for an ambulance, or Polly desperately trying to tend to their injuries. Everything around them blurred, only focusing on the scene in front of them. Aubrey thought for a moment that they might have been dreaming, but when the smell of blood hit her nose it dawned on her. _

_ This was reality. _

===

Hero tried to give his parents as much information as he trusted them with. All his parents knew was that something had happened between Sunny and Basil. What that was, no one knew for sure, but  _ Hero, Kel, and Aubrey didn’t stay at the hospital long enough for them to wake up _ . So, the three headed home. His parent’s finally dropped it once they were satisfied with Hero’s answer.

Instead, their attention turned to their youngest son, who hadn’t spoken a word since he’d come into the house. His eyes stared off into the distance, lost in his own world of never ending thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Kel,” his mom spoke, “you two shouldn’t have had to go through that.”

She pulled her sons into a hug, squeezing them tight, causing Kel to snap out of his thoughts. The boys returned the hug before Kel abruptly pulled away.

“It’s okay. It was scary, yeah, but everyone’s okay now. I’ll be fine,” Kel rambled, trying to assure his parents that his mental state was not currently spiraling. “I’m just gonna go shoot some hoops. You know, get my mind of things?”

Without waiting for their reply, Kel grabbed his basketball by the front door and left his house. Despite having a basketball hoop of his own, he didn’t want his family coming out and trying to talk to him. So, with that, he headed straight for the park.

He never took his eyes off the scenery around him, trying his best to keep his mind afloat. Sinking into negative thoughts would do nothing but hurt him.

When he got to the park, he headed straight for the basketball court which was, thankfully, empty. Right as he was about to step onto the concrete, he stopped. His eyes became fixated on the grass under his shoes. There grew a little weed, a common daisy. He thought back to the flower he and the others brought for Sunny and Basil. Basil only received the one from Kel and the others, but Sunny was given one from practically everyone in Faraway Town.

How could someone be so universally loved but still commit murder?

Kel shook his head, desperately trying to get rid of the thought. No. The Sunny he knew would never- Who was he kidding? The truth was he didn’t know Sunny. The Sunny he knew was different than the Sunny that Hero, Aubrey, Basil, and Mari knew.

He stepped onto the court and started dribbling the ball over to one of the nets.

Scoring points.

That was all he was going to focus on. Nothing else. He needed to clear his head and not think about anything else. If he pushed his thoughts down, just for a little bit, maybe he could get over them faster.

How hypocritical of him.

Standing on the freethrow line, Kel dribbled the ball a few times before taking his first shot. He watched as it hit the backboard and bounced off the rim of the hoop. Missed.

_ Sunny’s parents knew what they did. _

He stopped in his tracks, startled by the intrusive thought. Taking a moment to recollect himself, he continued going after the ball.

_ This is why they chopped down the tree. _

Kel picked up the ball.

_ They were covering up the crime. _

His eyes started to water. He didn’t want to think about this.

“I’m only sixteen. Sixteen year olds don’t go through stuff like this,” he whispered to himself, as if being any louder would cause him to burst into tears. Wiping his tears away, he dribbled back onto the court.

After Mari died, Kel put on a pair of rose-colored glasses. He didn’t know how to cope with loss, so he chose to cover it up. It wasn’t like he was denying the lack of Mari’s presence, more like the glasses didn’t make her death seem as bad as it looked. Now, staring at the basketball hoop, the realization hit him.

He lost the glasses. He lost them the moment Sunny walked into Basil’s hospital room. Kel could now see everything in it’s true colors. It made the light shine brighter, causing the darkness he had been hiding from to finally become visible.

Kel took another shot. It rolled on the rim of the hoop before falling in.

Sunny and Basil did a terrible, down right horrendous act. Kel knew this. He also knew that one bad action didn’t make a bad person, but this was something that couldn’t be forgiven easily. Hero and Aubrey were so quick to jump on the hate bandwagon, but Kel trusted that it was how they’d grieve. For them to turn on their friends so quickly would be hypocritical.

After what Aubrey almost did-

Kel caught the ball before it hit the ground. The air felt cooler around him as a small gust of wind blew his way. He gazed upward and noticed the clouds starting to form overhead. The sun was slowly disappearing, no longer able to form the warm colors of the sunset.

It was time to start heading back. He started walking toward the half-court line.

**People always told him he seemed to be so chipper, like he didn’t have a care in the world.**

Kel aimed for the basketball hoop. A three pointer. It was unlikely to make it, but not impossible.

**What people didn’t know was that he chose to live in an ignorant bliss. Wanting nothing more than to keep his childlike optimism without realizing what he was sacrificing in return. Reality.**

He shoots.

**Everyone made the mistake of separating from one another in a time when they needed each other most.**

He scores.

**_Friends… Friends are supposed to be there for each other._ ** **Kel would be damned if he let his friends suffer the same fate again. The last thing Kel was going to do was throw Sunny and Basil under the bus. If they trusted him and the others to make the right decision, then this was his.**

The first rain drop hit his hand, which was still posed in the air after shooting the basketball. He gazed up and watched as the clouds grew darker. He needed to get home, fast. Quickly, he grabbed his basketball and started racing home, hoping to beat the rain before a heavy downpour began.

He slowed as he neared his house, hearing Hector barking vigorously, begging to be let inside the house.

_ “Well that’s strange,” _ Kel thought to himself.  _ “How come no one let him in? There’s no way they couldn’t have heard him.” _ The moment Kel opened the front door he realized that there was, in fact, a way.

Hero and their parents were standing in front of the TV in a heated argument. Sally was crying in the background but no one seemed aware of it. Kel’s heart dropped to his stomach.

_ “Did Hero tell them the truth?” _

===

_ The front door slammed shut, leaving Hero and his parents confused. _

_ “He’ll be fine. You know how Kel will always bounce back,” Hero reassured, not wanting to stay on this topic any longer. Truth be told, all of this smiling wasn’t stopping his mind from racing. _

_ “Well then, let's sit down. We haven’t seen you in so long. How’s college?” His dad asked, finally changing the topic, but Hero was already done with talking. He didn’t want idle chit chat; he wanted to go through what he discovered. Nevertheless, he sat down with his parents, hoping to get this done and over with. _

_ As time passed, it appeared that Hero wasn’t going to be able to leave as soon as he wanted to. _

_ “What about your studies? Still an A plus student I hope!” his mom asked _

_ “Um… It’s been good, I guess. If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to-” _

_ His mother cut him off. “Oh, how exciting! I can’t believe that one day you’re gonna come back here as a doctor!” _

_ “Who knows, I might change-” _

_ This time the cut off was by his father. “Yup, that’s our boy for ya. He’s always aiming high. Soon, you’ll have a nice job and settle down with a good wife and kids.” _

_ “We’re really proud of you, Hero. We’re glad you decided to go into pre-med instead of culinary school.” _

_ It was stupid. It was a stupid reason to yell. He never acted on his emotions like this before, but in that moment all he could think about was Mari. Hero was always the charmer, always doing everything he could to help others. Yet, the moment he wanted to help himself, something had to get in his way. _

_ It was irrational. It was stupid but, right now, he didn’t seem to care. _

_ “I never wanted to go into pre-med!” Hero snapped, standing up from the couch. “I wanted to go to culinary school. I never got to decide anything!” _

_ His mother’s eyes widened, shocked by her son’s sudden outburst. Sally could be heard fussing in the background. “Hero-” she called out to him. _

_ “No, I don’t want to hear it! I could have been so much happier if I didn’t do what you wanted me to do.” He shouldn’t be taking his anger out on them. He just wanted to be left alone. _

_ Raindrops began hitting the window harshly, slowly drowning out the sound of Hector’s barking, who was begging to be let inside. Sally’s fussing had started to grow into a full cry. _

_ “Where is this coming from?” his dad demanded, not focusing on the noises around him. “Hero, this isn’t… this isn’t like you.” _

_ In a sense, he was right, but at the same time he was wrong. _

_ The Hero his dad knew was different from the Hero his mom, his brother, and Mari all knew. It was obvious to some that pre-med was Hero’s choice of major. He helped people on a day to day basis so this was taking it to another, profitable, level. Others saw the boy who gave so much to the point that he was handing away parts of himself. A person whose kindness could easily be exploited. They saw a boy that was clearly happy doing what he was passionate about but, of course, people wanted to take that away from him too. _

_ Very few knew Hero as the boy who could never truly get over the death of his loved one. The hardworking facade he created was meant to fool everyone, including himself, yet that didn’t seem to work. _

_ “I shouldn’t have done this to myself. Why didn’t I listen to her?” Hero muttered to himself under his breath. _

Someone cleared their throat.

All heads turned to the front door where Kel stood who was now slightly soaked by the rain. Hector had hopped onto the couch, not able to recognize the tension in the room. It was only then that Kel’s mother went upstairs to tend to Sally.

“Hey bud, you feeling better?” their dad asked, shifting the conversation once again.

“I-I’m doing okay. What were you guys yelling about?”

“Don’t worry about it, kiddo.” His dad waved his hand in emphasis, trying to brush it all off as no big deal. He turned to look at Hero one last time, “We’ll talk later, okay?”

Reluctantly, Hero nodded, bringing his head down.

“Good.” His dad left the room.

“Hero?” Kel called out to his older brother. Hero didn’t respond and made a bee line to their room with Kel following suit. “Hero, what’s going on?”

Hero sat on the edge of his perfectly made bed with his head in his hands. He heard Kel close the door behind him. No longer wanting to wait in suspense, Kel finally asked,

“Did… Did you tell them what Sunny and Basil did?”

Hero froze, making Kel fear for the worst. It felt like an hour until Hero lifted his head up.

“No,” he finally responded, “but maybe I should have.”

A blanket of panic wrapped around Kel, growing tighter by the minute. The anger that Hero had had started to crash, his eyes began to gloss over.

“Oh god,” he whispered, ignoring his previous comment, “She didn’t kill herself. All this time… it wasn’t her.” Tears began dripping down his face and he made no move to stop them. He had cried for days after her death, wondering what he did wrong. Wondering how he could have missed the signs not knowing that there were none. He wondered if  _ maybe _ it was the stress of the recital,  _ maybe  _ the thought of their future was too much,  _ maybe  _ she wasn’t happy with her life, wasn’t happy with  _ him _ .

Never did he think that  _ maybe  _ it was  _ nothing _ .

He blamed himself every day, believing that he was a horrible friend and boyfriend. He could never move on from her, and in truth, he never wanted to. Scared that his next relationship could end up like his first.

“Hero…” Kel called out to him, not knowing what to do. How do you drag someone out from the depths of their thoughts?

“She could still be here if they hadn’t… if they hadn’t…” Hero couldn’t bear to finish his sentence. Saying it would only shove the truth further into his face.

“It… It was an accident.” Kel spoke as if he wasn’t entirely sure of himself.

“Was it?” Hero glared at his younger brother, cocking a brow while the tears continued to drip down his face.

“No,” Kel said, his eyes widening, “don’t say that. We can’t just throw away all of our trust in them.”

“How could you say that? Even after what they did? You constantly acted like Mari’s advocate whenever we did something you thought she’d disagree with and now you’re going to say this?” Hero wiped the tears off his face.

“We both know that Mari loved Sunny, and Sunny loved her back! Do you really think that Sunny would do that on purpose? Tell me!”

Hero stayed silent. Truthfully so, Kel was the only one who seemed to look at the gray of the situation. While Hero and Aubrey dived head first into the black of the matter. With Hero’s silence, Kel continued,

“I know that what they did was wrong, everyone can agree, but they were twelve. If you had done that to me when you were twelve, how do you think you’d react? What do you think everyone else would say if they find out? I may not know Sunny or Basil that well now, but I know they aren’t cold blooded killers!”

Silence enveloped the two of them. Hero’s head was facing the ground again. Kel continued to stare at his emotion-driven brother.

They had been here before.

After Mari died, for a whole year the brother that Kel knew for twelve years had disappeared. He had turned into a depressing mass that lived most of its days on a bed. It was an argument that brought him out of that state, but now Kel was worried this one was going to sink him back in.

Hero had switched so quickly. From a troubled boy to the charming boy next door. From a depressed teenager to a hard working honor student. It made Kel wonder how many times was Hero real with himself. Where he put down the workload he assigned himself and dealt with the load of trauma he kept hidden? No matter what, Kel couldn’t let Hero lose himself again.

They had come so far, they couldn’t give up on each other now.

**{A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoyed it, please leave a kudos and a comment, I’d appreciate it! Also, sorry about the really late update. I have another fanfiction that I’ve been working on, so I’m going to switch back and forth between updating the two fics. Thanks again for reading. Bye!}**


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